1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a data editing apparatus, a data editing method and a data recording/reproducing apparatus which are capable of reediting audio and/or video (hereinafter referred to as AV) data or the like recorded on a nonlinear-accessible recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in accordance with multi-channeling for providing information due to the spread of a CATV (cable television) or the like, there has been a growing demand to simultaneously reproduce a plurality of data with one data recording/reproducing apparatus, as distinct from a conventional VCR (Video Cassette Recorder). In response to this demand, an apparatus called an AV server for recording/reproducing a plurality of audio and/or video data by using a random-accessible recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magneto-optical disk and a hard disk is coming into a widespread use.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example of a configuration of a conventional AV server. The AV server shown in FIG. 1 comprises a main unit 921 containing a random-accessible recording medium such as a hard disk, and a terminal unit 922 such as a personal computer connected to the main unit 921. The main unit 921 is equipped with a power switch 923, and a simple indicator 924 formed of an LED (a Light Emitting Diode) or the like for indicating a simple operating status of the main unit 921. The terminal unit 922 has a display capable of displaying various types of information, and a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse.
In the AV server having the above-mentioned configuration, the main unit 921 does not have an operation switch or the like for editing data. Thus, the terminal unit 922 gives instructions to input or output data or perform operation for editing data. A user operates the terminal unit 922 by using the mouse or the like on a screen based on an application such as a so-called GUI (Graphical User Interface) provided in order to operate the main unit 921, thereby instructing the main unit 921 to input or output data or to perform other operations.
The AV server generally has a plurality of input and output ports by making use of merits of the random-accessible recording medium, as distinct from conventional VCR equipment. Often, the above-mentioned AV server records a large amount of AV data in a large-capacity recording medium such as the hard disk and manages the AV data by treating a predetermined unit of data (e.g., data on a material-by-material basis) as a batch unit of management (hereinafter referred to as “a file”), as distinct from the VCR for managing materials videotape by videotape. In other words, the AV server generally records a plurality of AV data file by file in the recording medium. In case of editing data to create a new file by combining a plurality of partial data extracted from a plurality of files, the AV server does not have to actually process data but edits, for example, only location information in the recording medium and stores the edited location information, thereby being able to define a data structure of a new file.
As mentioned above, the conventional AV server performs operation for editing data in a GUI environmental provided by the terminal unit 922. However, a lot of editing equipment of a specific keyboard type capable of touch typing is used in a linear editing system using the VCR. Thus, it is not possible that users widely accept an operating environment of the AV server for performing operation in the GUI environment. More particularly, users who have used the conventional VCR feel inconvenience of operation in the GUI environment.
A stand-alone type AV server, which is capable of stand-alone operation and is used in much the same way the VCR is used, has been developed in recent years. The development of the stand-alone type AV server enables conventional editing equipment for linear editing to be connected to the AV server.
However, the simple introduction of the conventional editing equipment for linear editing into the stand-alone type AV server does not bring out merits of the AV server using a nonlinear-accessible recording medium. To edit data such as partly overwrite data of a file A with data in a specified section of a file B and insert the data of the file B into the data of the file A, the VCR overwrites the data in the specified section of the file B directly onto a videotape recording the data of the file A and thus requires real-time recording operation. On the other hand, the AV server does not have to actually process data itself but can store only information such as a data insert location or the order in which data of each file are to be reproduced, in accordance with the content of editing. Therefore, the AV server does not perform actual recording operation, as distinct from the VCR.
For the above-mentioned editing, the VCR actually overwrites the data of the file A with the data of the file B. Thus, an overwritten data portion of the file A disappears from the tape. After editing data through overwriting of data, the VCR cannot therefore restore the overwritten data portion of the file A when subjecting the edited data to so-called trimming for making fine adjustments of start and end points of a section in which the data of the file B is inserted. On the other hand, for the above-mentioned editing, the AV server does not actually process data itself but merely defines the order in which the data of each file are to be reproduced or the like. Thus, the data of the files A and B actually exist as they were before editing. Even when subjecting the edited data to trimming for making fine adjustments of the start and end points of the section in which the data of the file B is inserted, the AV server can therefore reproduce, without any problems, the data section of the file A which the VCR would erase through overwriting, by redefining the order in which the data are to be reproduced or the like.
The VCR can overwrite the data of the file A with the data of the file B with relative ease. However, the VCR needs to again rerecord the data of both of the files A and B in case of editing such as inserting the data of the file B into any given location in the data of the file A without overwriting. On the other hand, the AV server does not actually process data itself for the above-mentioned editing. Thus, the AV server does not need to again record the data even for editing of inserting the data.
As described above, the AV server using the nonlinear-accessible recording medium has merits which the VCR does not have. When the AV server adapts the conventional linear editing equipment without any modification, the AV server is preferred by users because of operability, but the AV server is unable to make full use of the above-mentioned merits characteristic of the AV server. On the other hand, the operating environment based on the GUI environment can make use of the merits of the AV server, as compared to the use of the editing equipment for linear editing. However, the GUI environment has a problem that users who have used the conventional VCR are not satisfied with the GUI environment because of less ease of operation.